Cocoa-Braised Crock Pot Pot Roast

Out to lunch with friends last weekend, I scoured the menu for hours looking for something to eat.  I settled on pot roast french fries; I'm not sure why.  In a cruel twist of fate, I was the pregnant woman left without her food for the longest time - my fries had been forgotten.  When they finally arrived, I wanted to hate them.  Instead, I devoured every last drop of gravy, cheese, meat and fry... and was left craving more.  So I added pot roast to my menu plan for the week, and set out to find a really succulent crock pot version. 

I asked friends and scoured Pinterest.  I ultimately settled on a recipe found through Pinterest on EatingWell.com, but with my own modifications.  The Eating Well recipe was written to be braised in the oven, but included the necessary steps to make it in a crock pot instead.  Thank you, Eating Well!  The original recipe also includes strong black coffee... which I have a history of seriously messing up.  I improvised, as is written below!  This turned out absolutely delicious - everything I hoped it would be!  Here is the recipe as I created it.

Ingredients:

• 1 4-pound beef chuck roast, trimmed of fat (although, mine was a bit smaller)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 heaping teaspoon jarred, minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon baking cocoa powder, whisked into 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Sliced mushrooms
• Carrots
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• French fries

Directions:

1. Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, turning from time to time, until well browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes.
2.  Transfer to crock pot
3. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pan. Add onions, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until softened and golden, 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Add garlic and thyme; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in cocoa and vinegar; bring to a simmer.
5. Pour onions and cocoa sauce over beef in crock pot.  Add mushrooms and carrots.
6. Cook on low 8 hours.
7. Transfer beef, mushrooms and carrots to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes.
8. Cook french fries in oven according to package.
9. Meanwhile, transfer braising liquid to sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook, whisking, until the gravy thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Season with pepper. Carve the beef and serve with gravy.

Serve your delicious pot roast with gravy over french fries, and enjoy!

I prepped my meat and onions the night before.  It took about 20 minutes to sear the meat, saute the onions and prepare the sauce.  The next morning, all I had to do was take the crockery out of the fridge and set the timer on the crock pot.  When I got home from work, I just stuck some french fries in the oven and prepared the gravy.  DONE!